


Secret Santa at St. Mungo's

by fanwit



Series: 25 Days of Sevart [24]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, M/M, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21949303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanwit/pseuds/fanwit
Summary: Severus goes to give his Secret Santa gift in person at Molly's insistence.
Relationships: Severus Snape/Arthur Weasley
Series: 25 Days of Sevart [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1199560
Kudos: 4





	Secret Santa at St. Mungo's

"No, it's fine," the healer says. Severus can't quite recall his name, Pie or something. "Just right through this door." The healer opens the door.

And there's the curtains around what Severus assumes is the hospital bed. He notes his surroundings, two other beds also having their curtains drawed. The healer gestures towards the middle bed and smiles encouragingly at him.

"He should be awake," he whispers, "and he'll love this." Severus steps inside and the door closes behind him. He stares at the blue curtains.

Maybe he should've just ignored what Molly said and forced her to take the present. Forget the whole Secret Santa thing. At least that way Severus wouldn't have to deal with Arthur wanting to thank him in person. He could disappear after meetings quickly, Arthur's got to give up after a while. But here Severus was, standing in front of the hospital bed, working up the strength to open the curtains and look inside.

Severus reaches out and pulls gently. He peers in and sure enough, Arthur's awake. Arthur beams at him, putting aside his book. The flicker of candlelight hadn't been visible through the curtains. Severus steps fully inside, pulling the curtains closed.

"Hullo," Arthur says quietly. "I assume you're my Secret Santa? They were doing that today, right?"

"Yes."

It had taken Severus a long while to settle down on a present for Arthur. He couldn't get anything that would look too expensive, the feeling of charity or the inability to ever do anything like this in return was awful. Severus always had that feeling at Christmas and birthdays. Well, back when he was still friends with... 

_Furthermore,_ he had to at least look like he put in the effort, it couldn't be anything Arthur'd hate. It should've been easy in theory, just picking up any Muggle thing. But Severus found himself stalling, stuck on the thought he would get Arthur something he already had. Rationally, he shouldn't care.

"Holidays going okay?" Arthur asks. "Christmas is coming really soon. I think my family's visiting then."

"It's tolerable." Severus reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small present. "Here you go."

Arthur grimaces when he leans too far and a pang of guilt goes through Severus. He should've remembered the shoulder injury. And the ribs. It was the entire reason why Arthur was here.

"You wrapped it too..." Arthur smiles at Severus. "Can't imagine what you'd get me."

Arthur pulls at one edge of the bow and it begins to unravel. Severus watches the intense concentration on Arthur as he unwraps the present. He's never seen him this focused, this determined. Normally Arthur's the one to be cracking jokes at just the right time in meetings to lower the tension. But here he was, all energy directed at something _Severus_ gave him. 

Arthur folds the wrapping gently and puts it aside. There's only a box left. He lifts the lid. "Oh," he murmurs. "Is this a..."

"A nutcracker," Severus says quickly before he can hear anything Arthur might say instead. It isn't one of the huge ones, rather it's a tiny one. It's meant to be a Buckingham Palace guard. But Severus doesn't explain that. "You can pull the back and use it to break nuts. Some have it just as decoration though."

Arthur nods slowly, eyes fixed on the nutcracker. He lifts the small figure, examining it. Severus steps forwards and puts his hand on the back.

"See?" Severus clacks the mouth a few times. Arthur puts his hand over Severus' hand.

"I see, yes."

Deep breaths. _There's nothing_. Severus should take his hand back. But he doesn't. Arthur clacks the mouth, Severus following. His hand is warm and soft. It's calloused, different from Severus' own. Severus knows his hands are deeply stained from potions. His long fingers are calloused from hours of brewing, the way he holds the ladle. But Arthur's hand feels different and Severus wonders what makes it calloused.

"Thank you," Arthur says quietly. His blue eyes shine in the near darkness. His face is illuminated by only the candlelight, the other half in soft shadows. Severus only knows complete hard darkness. He removes his hand.

"It was required." Severus stands up straight, hands firmly behind his back.

"Still. This was thoughtful."

"Enjoy Christmas with your family."

"Enjoy yours too."

A lump grows. But Severus ignores it as he ignores everything he doesn't like. He nods once and spins on his heels.

Severus leaves the hospital room for the last time. If he had his way, he'd never see Arthur Weasley again. He ignores the disappointment at that thought. He has to.


End file.
